Sleep of Death

Shakespearean Murder #1

by Philip Gooden

History meets mystery with a new twist in this raucous, colorful debut novel set in the bustling theatrical world of Shakespeare and Marlowe during the reign of the formidable Elizabeth I. Fast-paced and sprightly, it takes Nick Revill, a young actor in the newly established Chamberlain's Men company at the Globe Theatre in Southwark, to a luxuriously appointed Thameside mansion where a black-clad youth has offered him temporary lodging. Learning upon his arrival that his melancholy host's father has just died and his mother has instantly remarried his uncle, Nick is naturally struck by the similarities between the young man's woeful story of the Eliot family and William Shakespeare's latest play for the Chamberlain's Men-Hamlet. Nick suspects foul play and sets out to discover the circumstances of the old man's death. Already convinced that something is indeed very rotten in the state of the wealthy Eliot household, Nick stumbles upon evidence that proves his host's father did not die a death entirely natural. More disturbingly, the finger of suspicion points toward Southwark, and Nick finds himself investigating his employer, the celebrated playwright and shareholder in the Chamberlain's Mr. William Shakepeare.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Historical, Shakespeare, Fiction, Historical Mystery

310 pages, Paperback

First published July 26, 2000

About the author

Philip Gooden lives in Bath. In addition to his Nick Revill series, Sleep of Death, he is the author of The Guinness Guide to Better English and the editor of The Mammoth Book of Literary Anecdotes. Each of his Nick Revill mysteries revolves around a Shakespearean play mirroring life - in Sleep of Death the play was Hamlet, in this offering it is Troilus and Cressida.
AKA Philippa Morgan.

Series:
* Shakespearean Murder
* Tom Ansell

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the idea for this book and series (basing each on a different Shakespeare play and dividing the book into Acts, sometimes written as a script) was quite a good one, but it fell a little flat. There were some amusing moments but I didn’t take to the MC at all.

[Graculus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for historical crime fiction and always like the chance to get hold of the first novel of any new (or new-to-me, at least) series. I'd heard about this series but hadn't been able to get my mitts on 'Sleep of Death' till very recently, although it was first published in 2000.

If the title didn't give it away, 'Sleep of Death' is yet another Elizabethan period mystery, this time set in Shakespeare's own troupe of players - our protagonist, Nick Revill, is a would-be thespian who's managed to get himself a temporary role playing alongside the man himself, including a small part in the playwright's latest about trouble within a certain Danish royal family. Revill gets himself involved in a dispute about a stolen necklace as well and finds himself pulled into a family where life seems to have imitated art - his new best friend's father has recently died, after which his mother married his uncle. Is there more to this than meets the eye or is it mere coincidence?

I have to say 'Sleep of Death' is not the best thing I've ever read, and Nick Revill has some rough edges to say the least (though he does have the detective's traditional Troubled Past to make up for it...). It was enjoyable enough, though, to make me want to keep an eye out for the next in the series - Death of Kings.

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first in a series of historical mysteries, set in the late 1500s. It involves an actor Nick Revill who works at the Globe playhouse when William Shakespeare is alive and writing plays. Just as the play Hamlet is released, a strangely similar murder takes place at a lord's manor. Revill becomes involved in the household and is asked to look into the problem, just as a witness, a fresh set of ears and eyes.

The book has many interesting details about actors and plays in the time period, as well as some historical details about London at the time. The characters of Revill, Nan, and William Shakespeare are interesting and distinct, but all the rest are largely similar and indistinct.

Overall, the mystery isn't terribly challenging, but the main character is both likable and erudite, a very well educated son of a Parson who is interesting and likable. Not a top notch mystery but interesting enough to look into more of these books.

[Scott Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a fun quick read about a murder mystery set in the time of William Shakespeare. The murder plot mimics Hamlet and has the play of Hamlet woven into the story as well. Shakespeare is a character in the book but not a key one so if you want a lot of Shakespeare this may not be the book for you but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My only reservation is that the main character Nick Revill has a relationship with Nell his girlfriend who is also a prostitute. Nick appears to care for her but refers to her constantly as his whore which is pretty jarring and confusing. I believe the author is trying to use terminology that may have been thrown around at that time but its still pretty difficult to hear. As a reader I like Nick and Nell so it really seems out of place for him to keep referring to her this way.

I liked the book so much I have already ordered a few other books in the series.

[Rhiannon Cerys (rcbooknerd) · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was alright. I wouldn't recommend it to any one though. The murderer was to easy to figure out. I knew who it was before I was half way through the book.

There were a lot of things that annoyed me about it. The fact that William Shakespeare's name is barely written out and instead is written as WS. There were only 5 chapters. I get that the author wanted to make it seem like acts in a play but is was really hard to get through a chapter that's 70 pages long.

Also the POV of the characters changes at the start of every "act" but it didn't tell you that the POV had changed. It made reading it a little hard. Another thing is that for me the action scenes were a bit boring. Normally I'm gripped during an action scene but not in this book.

Overall I wasn't that impressed by it and actually I little disappointed. I highly doubt I'll be reading the rest of the books in the series.

[Angie Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guessed the murderer two chapters before the end and that is so annoying! It was a good idea; a murder which copies the plot of a contemporary theatrical and a myriad of suspects, a reluctant detective and his whore-with-a-heart-of-gold and a sharper brain in many ways than our hero, the required historically accurate subsidiary characters and a bit-player to save the day: in short all the genre-demanded elements and it is an enjoyable enough read but oh how frustrating that even I, an armchair detective of some wit and experience but little Machiavellian intent, could see through the plot so easily and so quickly. Ah well, better luck next time. I will give this series another chance but, like the theatre critic, my patience is finite and my judgements quick.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mystery with the Globe theater company surrounding the new play called Hamlet, which is happening within a family just north of the river, who are big theater patrons. Our intrepid sleuth, Nick Revill, is a new player in the company and still trying to tell friend from foe, when he end up invited to live in the house of the family with the recent death.
The more you know about Shakespeare's plays, the more you will enjoy the mystery. The author has captured the look, smells and morals of the period in such detail to appreciate life today and yet how these details apply to the theater company and the play.

[Deb Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I don’t know what to say about this, apart from if you know Hamlet, you’ll recognise this. Where I enjoy the slight feeling of superiority from recognising say, Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next literary references, the Shakespeare ones seemed forced. I didn’t like the narrator/main character, though I felt his whore girlfriend was a much more real character. I quite enjoyed the Elizabethan London setting, but the huge number of murders seemed improbable, even for a time when life was cheap.

I bought it from Oxfam, so I’m glad somebody benefitted!

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting murder mystery. Clever use of the story of Hamlet to be interwoven throughout and the inspiration of the first murder. Struggled with the first person narrative as sometimes it wasn't always clear who was narrating it. The main character Nick Reville or the murderer. Will give the next in the series a try though.

[Lilith · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75

Szybko się czytała, na umilenie wieczoru okej. Nic super porywającego ale następne tomy jak najbardziej przeczytam. Momentami pojawiało się słownictwo, które mi nie odpowiadało ale to raptem 3-4 razy, ale użyte słowo „ruchanko” na pewno wpłynęło na moją końcową ocenę.

[Aseret Aldrete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una buena historia sobre asesinatos y culpables.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read, picked this up as part of a 3 for £5 deal at The Works. Good for reading on the bus but it wasn't exactly a page turner.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best ever start to a book but I'm glad I persevered. An interesting concept and (eventually) a likeable main character.

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

So that's how story about Nick Revill's adventures starts :) I am poor detective, cause culprit in this story was somewhere near the end of my bad boys list.

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting novel about Shakespeare and his work. Well written and fun to read.

[Celea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but too dry and wordy to be great. Good plot, needs better execution. solid "adam" joke at the end.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Shakespearean murder mystery. The story is set at the time of Shakespeare in London. Sir Thomas Eliot was asleep in his hammock in his private walled orchard, a sleep from which he wouldn't wake as his killer poured a poison into the ear of the recumbent form. A murder resembling the murder of Hamlet's father in Master Shakespeare's play. Our protagonist is a player, acting with the Chamberlain's men....actors now have the wonderful Globe Theatre in which to perform "We are no longer a bunch of tatterdemallions setting ourselves up on a wooden cart in some draughty inn-yard." The son of the victim admires the actors and asks Nick Revell, an aspiring actor to seek out the truth of his father's suspicious death. "But I'm just a player" says Nick over a beer in the Goat and Monkey, a favourite haunt of the players.

Nick is in an awkward position, his lover Nell, a whore from the country, inadvertently tipped a full jordan (chamberpot) over Nick's landlady, rendering Nick homeless and susceptible to William Eliot's offer of lodgings in return for some sleuthing.

The story conjurs up the atmosphere of late sixteenth century London, the dens of iniquity south of the river and the respectable folk north of the river linked by the service of a foul mouthed boatman. A smattering of archaic words are mixed in with the text, and William Shakespeare has a cameo role in the story. His famous play Hamlet is very much entwined with the murder mystery, the author is trying to be clever like his Shakespearean muse with plays within plays.

An enjoyable read, a knowledge of Hamlet may make it more enjoyable.

[Barry Lillie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, it was extremely well written; but when you know Gooden's credentials it'd be a sin for it not to have been. I liked that it was divided into acts, as a play would be, but sadly these made it appear to be hard going. 70+ pages per act (chapter). Maybe a further division into scenes would make it more reader friendly.

The storyline travelled at a good pace and the denouement was kept at arms length until it was required, the few red-herrings were well placed and worked well to throw the get the reader to second guess their instinct.

I do think a knowledge of the period is helpful as is a good knowledge of Shakespeare's works. There are so many wordplays, puns and lines from Shakespeare that I think they'd be lost if you didn't know before hand where they come from. That said I'm sure it would still be a good read without this, but lacking those clever little gems. E.G. Hearing Mercutio (R&J) in another characters speech.

I found the Shakespearian nod to viagra at the end very amusing too. Will I read another in the series... possibly as it made a change from other detective novels.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

SLEEP OF DEATH (16th Century Mystery) – VG
PhillipGooden – 1st of series
Carroll & Graf, 2000 – tradepaper
During the reign of Elizabeth I, actor Nick Revill, joins the Chamberlain’s Men, the acting company of Richard Burbage and author William Shakespeare. When he unmasks a thief, he is asked to investigate the death of a young man’s father whose mother then marries his uncle.
*** There are scenes of great good humor, early investigative techniques, some suspense—could Shakespeare be the killer?--and wonderful depictions of London during the late 1500’s. One doesn’t need knowledge of Hamlet to enjoy this book. This is a well-plotted, delightful book and the start of a very good series.

[Fred Rauch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the fact that there is mild swearing (on three pages) and the main character is involved with Nell, a whore, this is a good book. The plot line is believable and the killer's identity has fooled everyone, including Nick Revill, the main character. There are funny parts. When Revill is trying to explain Hamlet to Nell while in bed with her and all the "activity" involved is funny because she clearly does not understand nor does she really care. William Shakespeare (Master WS) appears because it is his play Hamlet is being performed at the Globe and the entire book is based on that play.

[Cece · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first in a new-to-me series set in Shakespeare's London. Our hero is a "player" in the company resident at the Globe theater. To be honest, the "historical" part is just a surface thing-this whole plot could have been transported to other periods in history or even to contemporary times with minor tweakings-but his wordcraft is pleasing and the characters have some depth to them. I will read more.

[John Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first by this author and it was chosen after reading a review of a later novel.
Enjoyable read, certainly enhanced by knowing Hamlet. I wonder if I shall have to read unfamiliar Shakespeare titles before tackling others in the series.
This is another 3.5 which I will mark down to 3, on balance, but suffice it to say that I have every hope for the series and have the next two awaiting my attention.

[Vivienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pretext of this series of historical murder mysteries is that each one centres around on of Shakespeare's plays. In this case as the title suggests it is 'Hamlet'.

I found this an easy, enjoyable read; full of period detail with a very engaging central character in aspiring young actor, Nick Revill.

[Elizabeth Desole · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun mystery read that takes place in Shakespeare's time (he is one of the characters). The protagonist is a player at the Globe and falls into solving a mystery. The historical detail is a bit slim, but there. The solution is a bit from left field. The premise of Hamlet being woven into the story was entertaining though.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick Revill is a player at the Globe who finds himself investigating the death of the father of a young man in the audience. And so there follows a bawdy romp through Shakespeare's London with a plot mirroring the play of Hamlet. It's fun and easy to read but not as gripping as I expected.

[Pat · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't ususally consider myself a prude, BUT this author dropped the "F" bomb 16 times in the first 30 pages, followed by a trip to a whore house. I don't need this. There are too many good, well written books out there. I will not waste my time finishing this one.

[Beth Levitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting historical mystery with a story that parallels Hamlet with Shakespeare in a minor role. The plot kept me guessing and I thought it well researched and written.

[Mags Delaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book - bringing together two of my favourite things Shakespeare and Crime Thrillers! It was a refreshing read I look forward to the next one.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny old one this.
It took me pretty much a month to read, which is quite unusual. When reading, I found it really engaging but as soon as I put it down it was a struggle to pick it up again.
Saying that, the last 70 or so pages were brill! I really had to stop myself from whipping out the book at work for a quick read :0)